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Charles C. Jacobus Park
Charles C. Jacobus Park is a 31 acre site located adjacent to the Honey Creek Parkway in Wauwatosa. .]] Etymology The original name of the site was Sholes Park in honor of Christopher Sholes, 1819 –1890, who is known as the inventor of the first practical typewriter. Additionally, Mr. Sholes served two terms as a Wisconsin State senator and a term in the state assembly. He was eventually asked by President Lincoln to be customs collector for the port of Milwaukee. In 1932 the site was renamed Jacobus Park in recognition of the role Charles C. Jacobus, a former county supervisor from Wauwatosa, had in development of the park system. History The Jacobus site along with an initial acquisition of land for what would become Grant Park occurred in 1910 and represented the first purchases of the Milwaukee County Park System, which had been established in 1907. The park at that time extended from the Menomonee River to Wells Street. Improvements within the park benefited significantly from depression era relief programs. During the early 1930’s, the pavilion was constructed and considerable site work completed utilizing labor from these programs. Additionally, the Honey Creek Parkway was constructed through the northern portion of the park. The wading pool and adjacent comfort building were constructed in the late 1960’s. More recently the play equipment area has been redeveloped. This project, which was completed in 1998, was funded by a number of sources. A Community Development Block Grant from the City of Wauwatosa provided $100,000 of the $157,000 cost with the balance of the funds coming from the Jacobus Family Foundation, the Jacobus Park Neighborhood Association, other private donors and Milwaukee County. Today, the Parks Department working with the Jacobus Park Neighborhood Association is preparing a management master plan for the park. This plan is aimed at addressing issues such as protecting rare and endangered plant species, remediating erosion, and controlling invasive plants such as garlic mustard and buckthorn. Cedar Ridge development When the Salvation Army Home closed Milwaukee County bought the property, demolished the building and sold the land to developers George Kotsonis, and Chris Ganos, who planned to build the Cedar Ridge condominium complex on the wooded site. Since then, Jacobus Park naturalist Richard Barloga, Fred Ott, and a handful of other concerned neighbors began to attempt to make Milwaukee Park officials aware of the possible destruction of the parks rare, native wild flowers skirting the site, the destruction of the large, up to 150-year-old trees on the site and the erosion of the bluff that would result from the construction and increased use. In a letter to a then recently-appointed Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture Director David Shulz, the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) expressed concern about the use of the site and the easements and recommended that ''"any development proposed at the top of the bluff be set back at least 50 feet in order to Biodiversity and Urban Ecology Jacobus Park and Nature Preserve is home to several rare plant species as well as many old growth oaks and maples. Neighbors and visitors perennially enjoy migrant songbirds, as well as, nesting Screech Owls and Cooper’s Hawks. With more than 160 native species surveyed, among them several state-listed Threatened and Endangered Species currently reside here. See also *List of Fauna native to Jacobus Park *List of Flora native to Jacobus Park Category:Parks and open spaces Category:Locations Category:Jacobus Park Category:National Recreation Trails